


The Hunt for the Perfect Hug

by inkand_paper (Fabuest)



Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-19
Updated: 2011-03-19
Packaged: 2017-11-04 19:56:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/397622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fabuest/pseuds/inkand_paper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Swoop just wants to hug someone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hunt for the Perfect Hug

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: A Christmas gift fic for [livejournal.com profile] merkitten.

Wheeljack liked to sneak up on Ratchet and hug him. Ratchet usually said bad words then – words he said Swoop shouldn’t repeat – and sometimes he dropped whatever he was holding. Wheeljack was good at hugging Ratchet when he was holding things that wouldn’t break or when he looked like he was already going to say those bad words. Ratchet always shouted at Wheeljack after, but when Wheeljack left Ratchet always smiled and stood up a little straighter. Swoop thought Ratchet probably liked being hugged, and he wondered if maybe other mechs would like to be hugged too.  
  
He tried Cliffjumper first. Cliffjumper _always_ looked like he was about to say bad words, so Swoop thought that any time should be a good time to give him a hug. Since Cliffjumper only ever had monitor duty and never patrols, it was easy to find him. Swoop watched him working for a few breems, but he quickly got bored with waiting. Cliffjumper never picked up anything at all anyway, so Swoop didn’t have to worry about anything breaking. There was no reason _not_ to hug Cliffjumper, so he was going to do it.  
  
Wheeljack was good at sneaking up quietly behind Ratchet, but Swoop didn’t think he would be able to do that. Instead, he decided to run in as fast as he could and sweep Cliffjumper up into a giant, surprise hug. When Swoop picked him up, Cliffjumper reacted the same way as Ratchet always did when Wheeljack hugged him: he said lots of bad words very loudly. Swoop grinned proudly and squeezed Cliffjumper a little tighter. He must have done it right, if Cliffjumper was saying such bad words, and that meant that Cliffjumper would be happier after, just like Ratchet always was.  
  
Prowl was on monitor duty, too. He had been watching a screen and scribbling on a data pad when Swoop came in, but now he was looking at Swoop and Cliffjumper and frowning. “Swoop,” Prowl said, “I think you should put Cliffjumper down now.”  
  
“Okay,” Swoop said, and he bent down to put Cliffjumper’s feet back on the floor.  
  
Cliffjumper turned around very quickly, and he had a gun in his hand and he looked _very_ angry. “Think you’re funny, you glitched-up slagger? Think you can pick on the minibot ‘cause you’re bigger? I can kick the slag out of you! You want a fight?”  
  
Swoop’s smile faded. Ratchet never sounded like that when he yelled at Wheeljack. “Me Swoop not want fight,” he said. “Me Swoop want to hug you Cliffjumper.”  
  
That only made Cliffjumper more angry. “I’m not a toy, you stupid ‘bot! If you want something to hug, find a drone somewhere to play with! I’m gonna kick your-“  
  
“Cliffjumper, you are not acting appropriately,” Prowl interrupted. “Fighting is not acceptable. Cool your circuits, unless you wish to spend time in the brig. Swoop, come with me.”  
  
Prowl walked out of the monitor room, and Swoop followed him miserably. Prowl didn’t say anything until they reached his office, where he closed the door and pointed to a chair. “Have a seat, Swoop. Would you like some energon?”  
  
“Me Swoop not hungry,” Swoop said. He sat down in the chair. Prowl sat behind his desk. “Very well,” he said. He took a cube of energon out of subspace anyway and sipped from it.  
  
“Swoop,” Prowl began after he put the energon down on his desk, “why did you wish to hug Cliffjumper?”  
  
“Him Cliffjumper not look happy,” Swoop answered. “Him Ratchet like when him Wheeljack hug him Ratchet. Me Swoop thought him Cliffjumper like hug too.”  
  
Prowl frowned. “I see. Perhaps it would be best if you talked to Ratchet and Wheeljack about this, then. As I suspected, your intentions were good, so you will not be disciplined. However, next time you feel the need to hug a mech, please think it over carefully before you do so.”  
  
“Me Swoop will,” Swoop promised. Prowl smiled and said Swoop could leave, so he did. But he was confused. He _had_ thought about it a lot before he hugged Cliffjumper. And he didn’t know what “intentions” meant.  
  
When he talked to Ratchet and Wheeljack, they told him that Wheeljack had special reasons for hugging Ratchet. Ratchet was important to Wheeljack, they said, and Wheeljack knew that Ratchet didn’t mind being hugged, even if he yelled or dropped things. Wheeljack said he didn’t like seeing Ratchet upset, and he hugged Ratchet because he knew it cheered Ratchet up. Ratchet said Swoop should only hug someone if they were important to him and he knew they wouldn’t be mad.  
  
It was easy to decide who to hug next: Optimus Prime was very important, and he was so nice that he wouldn’t mind being hugged, and Swoop thought sometimes Optimus Prime looked like he needed to be cheered up. So the next time Optimus Prime looked sad, Swoop hugged him.  
  
“Swoop!” Ratchet yelled. “I just finished setting that arm strut!”  
  
Swoop looked down at Optimus Prime’s arm. It was bent at a funny angle now, worse than it had been when Optimus Prime came back from fighting Decepticons. “Oops,” he said. “Me Swoop sorry.”  
  
“I’m sorry, Optimus,” Ratchet said. “Swoop’s got it in his processor that hugging’s the answer to the problems in the universe. Unfortunately so far he’s only managed to create _more_ problems.”  
  
“That’s all right, Ratchet,” Optimus Prime laughed. “No lasting harm done.”  
  
Swoop left the med bay while Ratchet fixed Optimus Prime’s arm again. He hadn’t meant to hurt Optimus Prime. He walked through the Ark, trying not to think about how mad Ratchet probably was now. When Jazz and Bumblebee walked past Swoop, they both smiled at him and kept talking.  
  
“How’s Spike?” Jazz asked.  
  
“He’s fine for now,” Bumblebee said, “but I’m worried about him. He can get hurt so easily…”  
  
Swoop brightened. Bumblebee sounded like he needed to be cheered up, and a hug would be just the thing! Bumblebee wasn’t as important as Optimus Prime, but he was always nice to Swoop and a hug wouldn’t hurt _his_ arm. It was perfect!  
  
“What – woah! Hey, what’s going on?”  
  
Easy there, Bumblebee, it’s just a hug,” Jazz grinned.  
  
Swoop put Bumblebee down, smiling. He’d done it right for sure this time.  
  
“Hi, Swoop,” Bumblebee said. “What brought that on?”  
  
“You Bumblebee worry. Me Swoop hug. Now you happy?”  
  
“Oh,” Bumblebee said. “Thanks, Swoop. You scared me a little, but that was nice of you.”  
  
Swoop’s wings drooped. “Me sorry,” he mumbled. “Me Swoop not mean to scare.”  
  
“That’s okay. I do feel a little better now.”  
  
Swoop nodded, but he turned to go the way Bumblebee and Jazz _weren’t_ going. He just wasn’t _good_ at hugging like Wheeljack was. Swoop went to the rec room and got a cube of energon. He sat at a table by himself and put the energon down in front of him. He didn’t really want it that much. Swoop wasn’t sure how long he sat there before Tracks sat down beside him.  
  
“Hello, Swoop,” Tracks said. “You’re looking rather blue.”  
  
Swoop looked down at his plating, then at Tracks. “Yes,” he agreed. “You Tracks look blue too.”  
  
Tracks laughed. “What I meant to say was, you look less than ecstatic. Is something bothering you?”  
  
Swoop frowned. He didn’t know what “ecstatic” meant, but if it was about his colour, maybe he should polish his armour again. He wasn’t sure what that had to do with something bothering him, but he didn’t want to look dumb so he decided to just answer the question and ask Ratchet to help him polish later, if Ratchet wasn’t still mad.  
  
“Me Swoop want to give hugs like him Wheeljack give him Ratchet. Me Swoop not good at hugs. Him Cliffjumper get angry, him Optimus Prime get hurt, him Bumblebee get scared. Him Ratchet say me Swoop not fix problems, me Swoop make problems.”  
  
“Hmm. It sounds to me like the mech most in need of a hug is _you_. I admit, I am probably not an expert in the field of hugging, but I would certainly be willing to act as your test subject and inform you of your level of skill.”  
  
Swoop looked up from his energon, surprised. “Me Swoop hug you Tracks?”  
  
Tracks smiled. “Indeed.”  
  
After Swoop hugged him, Tracks made a thoughtful face. “That,” he said, “was a perfect hug. I believe not even Wheeljack could do better.”  
  
Swoop grinned. He _was_ good at hugging! “Me Swoop hug you Tracks _all_ the time,” he announced.  
  
“I would like that,” Tracks said, nodding.


End file.
